WhenToBird

Salpinctes obsoletus · Troglodytidae

When Do Rock Wrens Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Rock Wren
Photo: Chris Acree, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Rock Wrens arrive in Oregon in late April, peak in early June (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: early June. First arrivals late April; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 2.4% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.2% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.2% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.5% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.5% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.2% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.0% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.8% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.6% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.3% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.2% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.7% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 37592 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Oregon that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gilliam CountyBest early July · 55 checklists that week, 2,323 in all25%
  2. Malheur CountyBest early July · 138 checklists that week, 4,699 in all18%
  3. Lake CountyBest early July · 376 checklists that week, 13,301 in all16%
  4. Harney CountyBest early July · 565 checklists that week, 40,943 in all14%
  5. Sherman CountyBest the second week of May · 113 checklists that week, 4,629 in all12%
  6. Wheeler CountyBest the second week of November · 13 checklists that week, 3,129 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Steens Mountain Wilderness AreaHarney County, best late August · 28 checklists that week, 275 in all81%
  2. Fort Rock State Natural AreaLake County, best the second week of May · 49 checklists that week, 727 in all77%
  3. Diamond Craters Area of Critical Environmental ConcernHarney County, best late May · 35 checklists that week, 146 in all75%
  4. Pueblo Foothills Area of Critical Environmental ConcernHarney County, best early June · 52 checklists that week, 182 in all69%
  5. Smith Rock State ParkDeschutes County, best the second week of July · 44 checklists that week, 1,733 in all65%
  6. Page Springs (2)Harney County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 175 in all61%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Rock Wren is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 1.3% of 50677 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 125347 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 163668 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 160351 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 148940 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.4% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.1%0.1%0.2%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.2%0.1%
March0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
April0.2%0.3%0.4%0.5%
May0.7%1.1%1.5%2.5%
June2.5%2.2%2.0%1.8%
July1.6%1.3%1.2%0.7%
August0.6%0.7%0.8%0.7%
September1.0%0.9%0.7%0.5%
October0.3%0.2%0.2%0.3%
November0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid March, 5 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid March, 5 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid June
  • California: year-round, peaks the second week of November

Common questions

When do Rock Wrens arrive in Oregon?
Rock Wrens arrive in Oregon in late April, peak in early June (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Rock Wrens leave Oregon?
Most Rock Wrens have left Oregon by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rock Wren in Oregon?
The Rock Wren is reported most often in early June, on about 2.4% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Rock Wrens seen most often?
By county, Gilliam County, Malheur County, and Lake County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rock Wren (counties with at least 200 checklists).